Easter in Temple

I was up and out of the house by 8 a.m. to get to the airport to pick up Cassie from work.  We came back to the house to check and see if Mister was feeling up to traveling down to Temple with us today. Nope -- my poor Mister is sick.  He wasn't even up to coloring eggs so Cassie and I did a quick dunk and made Easter Eggs.  This is probably the least amount of time spent coloring eggs ever.  We even left 6 in the cups for Mister to take out when he woke up.  Perhaps we would have a few really dark colors.

We then change clothes and get on the road to Temple.  Jen has invited us down for Easter dinner and to spend some time together.  Scott is stuck in Salt Lake at the airport trying any and all available flights to get back to Texas.

While we are driving Scott manages to get a flight to Long Beach.  At least he is out of Salt Lake and starting towards home.  From there, he will race and try to get a flight to Austin.

When we arrive at Jen's, the first thing I see is an Easter tree.  She said that she was keeping her tree up this year and decorating it for each holiday.  What a fun idea and dang if it doesn't solve the problem of where to store the tree.

Cass starts making her Better Than Sex cake and I am lazy and just visit with everyone.  It is always fun to get filled in on everything that everyone is up to and they are always willing to tell me stories.




Jon readies the table for dinner and I realize that I am starving.  I cannot wait for the yummy ham, pasta, corn, and fresh bread. It is all so good.

After dinner, Cassie drove into Austin to pick up Scott and I had the chance for a wonderful visit with Jen and Louis.  It is so nice to have these great conversations.  I miss them -- could be a sign that I need to improve my social life.  Finally, it appeared that the dishes were not going to hop off the table and wash themselves so we set to it and had everything cleaned up in no time.

When Cass returned, Scott helped Jen with some computer issues while Auntie channeled her inner child and started to play with her nephews.  I was watching for awhile and then couldn't resist and joined in as well for some giggles and fun.  Cass had a great time showing the kids how Gammy used to jump years ago.  Apparently I stuck my butt out a lot.

It was a great day and I cannot wait until next weekend to go down and spend time with them again.  By the time I picked up my car at the airport and drove home, it was midnight and I was surely ready for sleep.  My poor Mister does not feel much better.  So sad.

Yarn Shopping and Errands

Mister and I were out running errands and I wanted to pick up some yarn to make a few scarves so we stopped off at my fav yarn spot, Holley's Yarn Shoppe.  While there I saw this very cool item.  It takes the coils of yarn and rolls them into a ball.  Dang it was sweet.  And double dang -- I remember sitting and holding my arms apart with the yarn around them while it was hand wrapped into a ball.  I am pretty sure this is NOT modern technology, but it is way more advanced than what I was used to.  Too cool.

Just us Two at the Zoo

This morning I asked Mister if he would like to go to the zoo in the afternoon.  They have a koala encounter each day around 1 and I thought he might like to see it.  One of the benefits of having a membership is that we can just pop in anytime and stay as long as we want without feeling like we are wasting money.  It's great.  As we wait for the encounter to begin, the Colobus Monkey habitat is right outside the  koala area and we notice that there is a sign for a new baby born in December 2012.  We stand and watch for about 15 minutes before we discover where the little guy is hiding.

He peeks out from behind one of the adults off and on for about 1/2 an hour and then suddenly he is picked up and carried down to the ground to play.  So very special.

It is time for the encounter and we spend another 30-45 minutes with the koalas.  This is Kobi and he is doing well here in Dallas.  We are lucky to have this exhibit and love to see these amazing animals when they are awake.  That is always the challenge.

Fun day doing something Mister loves.

Buzzbrews and a Movie

Mister has been wanting to see Oz: The Great and Powerful for a couple of weeks so we check the first showing time and decide to make the race to get there in 15 minutes.  Woo hoo, we make it and settle in to enjoy the show.  After the movie, we are now starving and look for a new place to have a late Sunday brunch.  Mister remembers a place along the Expressway that he has wanted to try and so we locate it and stop in at Buzzbrews.  This place is great!  The food is excellent and hits the spot just right.  Yay Mister.

Time Sewing with Cass

Cassie's grandmother is turning 80 and all the grand and great-grandchildren are making a small quilt as a gift for her.  Each one is to do something that "Grandma would like" and since Cass has been out of town working for the past week she is behind the eight ball on getting it done by the deadline.  I pitched in to help and also give myself some fun Momma/Daughter time.

We took over my sewing room and Mister kept us supplied with patterns, food, and drinks while we worked.  He was great at finding patterns online that we could work with easily.  Grandma loves flowers and so we settled on a pansy and a violet.  Once we finished creating the applique flowers and had them ironed in place, it was time to blanket stitch all the way around.

We moved into the office in the house to sit back and do the finish work a little more comfortably while still being able to visit and hear all about her time in Austin during SXSW.  She always has so many funny stories to tell - airports are a gold mine for those.

We think the squares turned out well -- how about you?

Dallas Blooms

A day in the sunshine at the Dallas Arboretum is always welcome and Dallas Blooms is not to be missed.  The tulips are so beautiful here and wandering the grounds is such a calming experience.  I am reminded of the time we had Elena here for a picture shoot - (Time with Miss Elena).

We take the time while here for me to receive another photography lesson.  I am starting to put the parts together but know that I still have a long way to go before I have anything really good.  This is my first attempt on this scene and below is the second attempt.  I loved the way the light was sitting on the little Japanese Maple along the stream.

Everything here is so beautiful and I want a backyard just like this.  Mister spends some time in the test gardens so that we will know what would be best to put in the planters out front this year.  It is almost planting time and this year I will have time to be a part of that.

He is looking at rows and rows of pansies.  I had no idea that there were so many varieties.  Yep, I still have the camera.  Ha ha.

The Children's Garden is getting really close to being finished as well as the new Magnolia section.  We will have to keep our eyes open for both and cannot wait to take the grands when they visit.  I have a picnic basket and blanket calling their names and am hoping that they can hear it as I am soooo ready for visitors.  Yep -- that was Mom guilt if they are reading this.

One last shot to end this beautiful afternoon.

The Odd Couple at Wyly Theater

As part of our season tickets to the Dallas Theater Center we were surprised to find The Odd Couple included and tonight was our chance to attend.  It was in the Wyly Theater and I just had to snap a picture of the set.  This is only one angle of it, but the reason I snapped this one is because of the windows.  How real does that look?  The set builders even built another building behind -- that is NOT actually outside.  You can even see the brickwork and pipes on the other building in addition to seeing furniture and lighting inside the windows.  AMAZING.  Hats off to this crew as they did an incredible job.  Oh --- the play was wonderful as well.  Love Neil Simon.

Peach Blossoms and Other Signs of Spring

Tiny blossoms making their way from their tightly encased buds.  Our little peach tree is absolutely full of blossoms and we are crossing our fingers that we will actually get to taste a peach this year.

When I moved to Dallas, I became fascinated with the Redbud trees.  That has not changed for me and the city is once again dotted with this pink/purple everywhere.  Our little tree out back is giving us this spray of color each time we look out the window.

Several of the flowers in the backyard are peeking out as well.  Iris

Quince

And an unknown tree -- (Mister is researching)

Date Day with Mister

After losing my job, I really needed this day.  Mister made me climb out of my depression, get dressed, and leave the house.  Our plans were to check out one of the local wineries, but first some food.  Taco Stop had just what we needed -- a few yummy street tacos.

Close to there is the Inwood Estates Winery.  We entered the building and were warmly welcomed. A tasting was definitely in order and each wine was indeed pleasant to the palate.  We enjoyed some great conversations while learning about another local place.  Nice afternoon.  Way to go Mister.

Happy Birthday Louis

My children, their spouses, and the grandchildren give me 22 birthdays each year.  It is no wonder it seems like we are always celebrating one.  This time was it Louis' turn.  We drove down to Temple to spend a few hours together and then take Jen and Louis out to an adult night for his birthday.

After being smoked at "Go Fish" by Jared, Jen and I ran a few errands and then met the boys at Nami for dinner.  It was a nice evening full of great conversation and entertainment by the chef.  We need to do this more often.

We Are NOT Old! A Day at Six Flags Proves It

Opening day at Six Flags and Mister wanted to go.  Tickets were only $18.00 a person and so we bought a couple and then found out that it would cost us nearly that much to park --- What??  Ah heck, we wanted to do it and so bought the dang parking pass as well.  I think the last time I was on a roller coaster was in San Antonio at Sea World with Jen and family.  We had talked about going to Six Flags here in Dallas on several occasions but had not followed through.  This time we were doing it.  Yep -- no backing out.  The weather was a very crisp 45 degrees.  Shouldn't be very long lines at that temp was our thought process.  Let's go find out.

We arrived before the gates opened, parked and were all bundled up waiting along with several hundred other crazy people.  First stop --- The Texas Giant.  One very famous roller coaster.  Woohoo.  It was incredibly fun --- especially that first drop that you see here.  I was completely standing up in my seat.  I love the wooden roller coasters.

Moving quickly to the Titan before lines formed, we found out that due to weather??? it would be closed until the afternoon.  Odd, but okay.  Next stop was the Superman Tower of Power. We got in line and I kept looking up nervously.

Finally, I told Mister that it looked like an "oop your cookies ride" and that he should hop into the single rider line and I would enjoy watching.  I was serious -- I would ENJOY watching tremendously.  This ride went zooming to the top and then up and down in small increments until it clicked in at the top.  It sat there for a few moments and then free-fell towards the bottom with a few more small up and downs until coming to rest on the ground.  I literally had to laugh out loud when Mister walked up to me and said, "I didn't like that one."

We walked a short distance and came upon The Runaway Mine Train.  It is the oldest roller coaster in the park and so that made it an automatic "must ride" in my book.  Mister told me that he remembered riding it years ago and it was the "scary" roller coaster.  Pretty funny by today's standards but I thought it was a great ride.

Making our way around the park, the next area was Gotham City.  Pretty lame, I know.  We watched Batman The Ride for awhile and decided to give it a whirl.  It had a pretty long line and so we knew we were in for a wait and just grabbed a spot and started the process.  An hour later, we reach the ride only to discover that my clogs could not be worn as they would fall off during it.  I also could not ride without them attached to me for some odd reason although I could hook them to the bar, but without a strap that was not possible and I couldn't have loose objects in the seat with me.  Dang -- a lose, lose situation.  So, I sent Mister on his way and when he exited the ride he said, "You wouldn't have liked it," which made me feel better.  He then followed that with, "I am getting old," causing me to laugh again.

A tunnel leads under the road and over to and old wooden roller coaster named Judge Roy Scream.  It is a classic roller coaster and not many people were in the area.  We were able to ride it twice in a row without changing seats and I absolutely loved it.  The ups and downs were incredibly fun to this old lady and left me laughing instead of shaking.  Pure childish fun.

 Mister loves to sit in the last seat so that we go even faster.  I used to be a front seat person, but he sure is correct --- the front was waiting for us to climb the hills and then we zoomed down the entire length.

It was now afternoon and we had seen the Titan (check this link - actual ride) operating so made our way back over to it.  After a short half hour wait, it was our turn.  Now this dang coaster is HUGE - over 225 feet tall and speeds up to 85 mph.  As we started our climb to the top, I seriously questioned my intelligence.  I have to say that this is one amazing ride, but I definitely had jello legs when we exited.  That drop was nothing compared to the spirals.  The G-force was incredible.

That was it.  The Titan was my grand finale and I was ready to go and have some food.  I loved the park and the history behind it and the Six Flags story.  We stopped and checked out the six flags that DID indeed fly over Texas and started this entertainment venue right here in Arlington.  Cool.

It was now after 3 and I was starving.  We drove back into Dallas for a stop at our absolute favorite BBQ stop -- Sonny Bryans -- another Texas original right in our backyard.  This particular spot is over 100 years old.  Any restaurant that stays in the same spot and is still packed everyday after that long is a statement in itself.  What a success story.  Love the place, love the food.